Heirloom Baby Blocks
The Backstory (ahem, Blockstory)
Like so many projects, it started with something I saw on Instagram. @cotton_clara posted these gorgeous wool needlepoint blocks, and with my sister’s baby shower coming up, I knew I had to make a set. But more than that – I thought we should make them. I wanted to recruit friends and family to stitch the blocks together as a surprise gift.
My mom reminded me of the old tradition of group baby shower quilts. “It was stressful,” she said – and this from someone with a literal sewing career. “You never knew what to make, and when all the pieces were assembled, you’d end up with this total mishmash of styles and skill levels. The sentiment was there, but the result… not always beautiful.”
So I set out to create a better version of the group gift:
A tight, modern color palette for consistency
Beginner-friendly designs for the non-stitchers (which was most people)
A fully prepped kit with materials, a tutorial, and a foolproof plan
The goal was to make the whole thing as accessible and unintimidating as possible – quick to complete, easy to say yes to, and ideally, fun. And unlike a quilt that relies on everyone finishing their piece to bring it all together, these blocks are modular. Each one only needs six squares, so if someone missed the deadline, I could just stitch their piece into an extra block later.
Definitely Not Overcomplicating Things
The Cotton Clara team didn’t have a pattern or tutorial available, and I had a tight deadline… so what’s a girl to do besides spend hours and weeks (and months) making it happen? Oh – and did I mention I had never cross stitched before?!
What followed was an addicting adventure in supply hunting, pixel art, chart design, tutorial writing, kit assembly, and more spreadsheet time than I’d care to admit. I even asked ChatGPT to help me calculate how much wool I’d need – and ended up spending over $100 in unnecessary shipping because my fake assistant thought I only needed general estimates. I eventually gave up and counted everything manually.
By the time the shower rolled around, I had just enough squares to sew up a sample block – which we wrapped inside the innermost box of a nesting gift set, complete with clues and a silly reveal.
My sister was surprised and delighted. The block was soft, colorful, and stitched with care – a tangible reminder of all the people who already loved her baby before he was even born.
Somewhere along the way, this turned from “a cute group gift idea” into a full-fledged tutorial project I wanted to share with others. You can find the project resources here, including a free pattern and spreadsheet to help you plan your own set.
Heirloom Baby Blocks
Stitch your own set with our free digital pattern and step-by-step tutorial.
The LeMond Blocks
The Set That Started It All
Pixel artwork designed on Procreate.
Pixel Art & Pattern Design
My first task was to make the block artwork. I looked at cross stitch inspiration online, but most patterns I found were fairly intricate, or at least, weren’t limited to a 19x19 grid. I thought making pixel art to fit my needs would be a breeze… silly me. It turns out that it’s quite challenging to convey curves and sharp angles while only using squares and right angles. I became obsessed with the puzzle of it all, and made many, many revisions. I’ve gained newfound respect for the original video game designers and pixel artists out there!
To make my designs, I used a 19×19 grid in Procreate with these free Pixel Art brushes from Bardot Brush. Once I was happy with my artwork, I transferred to Adobe Illustrator and InDesign to make cross stitch charts and the step-by-step tutorial.
Making the Kits (and AI Mishaps)
Once I had the artwork and tutorial dialed in, I was ready to order supplies from Benzie Design and send out my kits. I had so much fun dressing things up with cute packaging, Washi tape, and baker’s twine.
In a bold attempt to save time, I asked ChatGPT to calculate how much wool I’d need. It was wrong. Repeatedly. I paid for multiple rounds of shipping, ran out of thread mid-kit, and found myself manually counting pixel squares at 10 PM. In the end, I made the spreadsheet myself – as I probably should have done from the start.
Stitching Fun
We had over 30 makers and they all did such a great job! Many said it was a relaxing craft, and the only difficult part was figuring out how to thread the needle. People invented their own methods involving twirling, dental floss, and pinching. Now, we have a how-to video included in the tutorial.
The Big Reveal
We wrapped a finished sample block a set of nesting, exploding gift boxes. Each layer had a little note or clue, building up to the final reveal. When Libby opened the last box and saw the handmade block – stitched with love from friends and family near and far – she was surprised and in total disbelief at our collective crafting prowess.
Each block has its own quirks and imperfections, which is exactly what makes handmade gifts so charming and personal.
Heirloom Baby Blocks with my DIY Painted Blocks (Free Tutorial)
